Secrets
by sugarncandy
Summary: We all have secrets we don't want others to know. PLEASE R&R causei love hearing ur suggestions and feedback is what i live 4! OMG I finally updated!
1. Chapter 1 Arrival

**Disclaimer: I don't own House!  But he's no.1 on my Christmas wish list**

**Chapter 1**

Allison Cameron sat at the lab bench working on the blood samples of the current patient.

There was a soft knock at the door and when Cameron looked up she was surprised to meet the eyes of a young teenage girl, dressed in jeans and a tank top and carrying a duffel bag.

"Hi" the girl whispered so softly, that Cameron could barley hear it.

"Hi, are you lost or looking for anything?" replied Cameron with a warm smile and looked behind the girl for any sign of someone that could be looking after her.

"A-are you Dr. Cameron?" the girl stuttered as she looked around the room awkwardly.

"Yes" Cameron said getting up from where she was sitting and stuck her hand out "Nice to meet you um…"

"Evangeline, Evi for short" the girl said finally looking back at Cameron and taking her hand and shaking it lightly.

"What can I do for you?" Cameron asked, still curious to where the girl had come from.

"Ummm well you see…." said Evi pointing to the chair, "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"No go ahead" said Cameron, ushering the girl towards the chair, and then taking the one next to her.

"I'm from Chicago and I live with both parents and 2 sisters" she looked at Cameron, as if asking permission to continue, and Cameron nodded, even though she had no idea why a stranger was telling her this.

Evi went on "I'm 12, turning 13 in May," then paused slightly, and shook her head, "Sorry I'll get to the point"

"No its okay" said Cameron, worried because the girl looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"About a week ago I was looking around my mum's room for something" and she paused again as if thinking "I can't remember what it was, but anyway a found a small box, just about as big as my hand" she held out her hand indicating the size and Cameron nodded.

"Inside was a photo of me, when I was a baby. There was a man and a lady standing next to him, holding a little buddle of blankets with my head sticking out the top."

Evangeline brought her hand to her face to brush away tears which were now fall freely down her face. "I didn't recognize the people in the picture so I thought they must be friends of my parents" she sniffed and Cameron dug into her lab coat pocket and pulled out a tissue.

Evi looked at the tissue and made a face, "Don't worry it's clean," Cameron reassured her and handed it to her. Evi shifted slightly in her seat before continuing.

"I dug deeper into the box until I found this" she reached into her bag and pulled out a worn piece of paper.

"On here is…" she stopped and handed the paper to Cameron.

Cameron slowly opened the paper and quickly scanned it. It was a birth certificate……..

Evi stared talking again, before Cameron finished reading the paper.

"**_According to this" she said pointing "You're my mother….."_**


	2. Chapter 2 Stay

**Soz this chapter is really rushed. Hopefully it will get better as it continues that is if you want it to! PLEASE R&R**

'_Oh my god'_ Cameron thought _'the baby girl I gave up almost 13 years ago has come back'_

Cameron could feel her eyes feeling quickly with tears, but she tried to blink them back and put on a brave face.

She turned to face Evi, but she was already standing up and walking away.

"Hey" Cameron asked, "where are you going?"

Evi just looked at Cameron with tears pouring down her face, and as Cameron held her gaze she could feel herself letting go of the tears.

"Well, I figured you really wouldn't want a kid showing up on your doorstep so I'm going to catch the train back" Evi sniffed

"Oh" Cameron said softly, "I don't really mind if you stay with me, I mean, you are my daughter"

"Really?" Evi asked, as her eyes filled with hope.

"Of course, just let me grab my bag and I'll go see Cuddy" Cameron replied as she quickly packed away her books and pens.

"Come on, you can wait in my office" Cameron said ushering the girl out the door and down the hall.

Cameron wasn't sure she wanted to leave Evi in her office all alone because the chances were that House would probably come in.

_Well, I'll risk it _Cameron thought to herself. She wasn't quite she why she was taking the young girl into her life, even though she was her daughter.

"Can you just wait here for 2 minutes and then I'll be back?" Cameron asked fussing around her desk

"Yeah ok" Evi said as she mopped up the rest of her tears clinging to her face.

"Thanks," said Cameron as she walked out the door.

"_Oh my god" _Cameron thought to herself as she rushed down the halls of PPTH_. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this, I mea-"_

Cameron thoughts were cut short as she ran into Wilson.

"Oh sorry Cameron I was in-" Wilson started and then he got a good look at Cameron's face.

"Have you been crying?" he asked, as he looked worriedly at the younger doctor.

"Yeah I'm fine" Cameron said as she quickly faked a smile

"Oh no you're not, what has House done this time, I'll grab his cane and push him down the stairs"

Cameron laughed at the thought "No, it's got nothing to do with House"

"Then what's up?" Wilson asked still worried.

"Well, I suppose you'll find out anyway" Cameron sighed, pulling him over into a doorway away from the hallway, "but you have to promise not to tell House ok?"

"You know I wouldn't" Wilson replied with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3 Questions

Please R&R cause i luv hearing from u all. I don't think I'll continue but let me know if i should

"You what?" Wilson almost yelled.

"Shhhhh" said Cameron softly "I have a daughter,"

"When! How!" Wilson said, in a slightly softer voice

"It was just before I met Matthew" Cameron said, her voice starting to shake, as she struggled to hold back the tears, "Things were crappy at home and I was lonely, depressed and felt like no-one loved me. I just wanted someone to hold me for a while, someone to care and just be there for a while. I regretted it as soon as it happened, and of course by the time I found out a few weeks later he was gone,"

"Why'd you…?" Wilson asked gently.

"It would have gotten to complicated. I mean, it wouldn't have been fair to her if I'd lied. I couldn't do it." Cameron now had tears pouring down her face but she continued,

"I felt really dirty and used and I knew that every time I would look at her I would think of my past, him and I didn't want to unhappy. Then when I met Matthew a month later, I convinced myself that I had made the right decision. I looked forward to my future with him"

"I'm sorry" Wilson said placing an arm around Cameron's shoulder.

"Would you tell Cuddy that I had to take the rest of the day off?" Cameron asked looking up at Wilson.

"Yeah, Ok"

"Thanks" Cameron whispered, softly hugging Wilson before going back to the conference room.

As House entered his office, something in the other room caught his eye. It was a young girl, drawing in his whiteboard

"Hey! Who are you and why are you touching my markers?" House said loudly enough to make the girl jump and drop the marker.

Startled, Evi spoke. "Hi, I'm Evi. Who are you?" she replied holding her hand out for House to shake.

House at the girl's hand and raised and eyebrow. "I ask the question around here" he said gruffly "Where'd you come from?"

"Well I'm here because I'm-" Evi was cut short but Cameron's voice.

"Evi grab your bag we're- House" Cameron said when she realized who was standing next to the board.

"Dr Cameron, you know her?" House asked his eyes flicking between the two. There was something… something similar about the two of them but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Evi, can you grab your bag and wait for me in the hall?" said Cameron as she walked past House and went to turn her computer off.

"Babysitting for some extra pocket change? The salary I pay you isn't good enough?" House asked as soon as Evi had left the room and was out of earshot.

"Very funny….."said Cameron thinking quickly "she's just a patient that's lost and I'm taking her back to her room, that's all ummm… I gotta run Cuddy knows that I have the day off so are you guys all right with the case?"

"Of course we are, you're just there to stand around, look pretty and ask all the smart questions, I'm sure we can manage" said House as his eyes followed Cameron as she walked to the door.

"Ok. See you tomorrow then," said Cameron as she turned and walked out the door to where Evi was standing and the pair walked off down the hall.

_House picked up the office phone and hit speed dial #1_

_"Hey Wilson wanna grab some lunch, there's something I wanna talk to you about"_


	4. Chapter 4 That's what friends are for

As soon as Cameron and Evi arrived at the car everything went silent.

"You okay?" Cameron asked worriedly

"Why didn't you tell him?" Evi said softly staring at the dashboard, daring to look up at Cameron's eyes.

"Well ,some things are better out in the open and others are best kept to ourselves for no-one else to know" Cameron said thinking about when House had asked her if she ever lost a baby.

"Oh, sorry" Evi said finally looking up. Now that her eyes were in the light, Cameron could see that tears were brimming the edges of the young girl's eyes.

"Perhaps it would be better if I called your parents and let them know that you're here" said Cameron, finally coming to grips with what she was actually doing.

She knew that if everyone found out, especially House, there'd be questions and people wanting answers.

"Ummm… I guess, but could I stay just a while to talk " said Evi turning towards Cameron, tears slowing cascading down her cheeks.

"Ok" Cameron said in barley a whisper and she started the engine.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As Wilson reached the cafeteria, he saw House waiting for him.

Just as Wilson reached the table and was about to sit down House had already started to fire questions.

"So who's the girl Cameron's with?"

"How am I suppose to know House I haven't seen Cameron all day"

House just cocked his head to one side and said "So the smart little immunologist I saw you talking to before, the one who had tears pouring down her cheeks, you mean to tell me that wasn't Cameron?"

As soon as Wilson shifted slightly in his seat House knew that he had him cornered.

"Fine. Maybe that was Cameron, but I can't tell you," Wilson said avoiding House's piercing blue stare.

"C'mon old buddy, you always tell me your secrets every Friday night, when we do each other's hair"

Wilson just laughed. Why couldn't House a) admit that he liked Cameron and b) keep his nose out of other peoples personal lives.

"House, Im sorry, but I promised Cameron. If your so curious, why don't you just ask her yourself, I mean she's opened up to you before why won't she do it again… wait one sec… I know why, because when you went out on the date with her, the one she said she would only come back to work if it happened…"

House sat up slightly. "What! She practically forced me to go on that date."

"See that's where you're wrong House. You could have chosen not to go out with her but you couldn't because you care so much. Because things didn't feel the same without her. Because..." Wilson took a deep breath, "look House maybe it's because you wanted her so badly in your life and you couldn't have stood by and watched another woman you love walk out of your life."

It took a while for House to reply. He seemed to actually think about what Wilson had said. For a minute it seemed if all his walls were crumbling down, but as soon as he went to talk again they went right back up.

"Maybe it was because she was a good doctor? Did anyone think of that? Or maybe it was because I'm becoming soft with my old age.. you know what? I think I'm gonna take up knitting"

As he finished talking he stood up and started to walk off.

"What about lunch?" Wilson called after him.

"Yeah later, I have to go make a 'House' call." He said as he turned the corner.


	5. Chapter 5 Unexpected Guest

Chapter 5

Cameron slowly pulled up to the front of her apartment. She turned the engine off and pulled the keys out.

"You alright?" she asked Evi.

Evi was sitting quietly in the passenger seat. She didn't say one word on the way to Cameron's and now she was just sitting staring at the dash board.

"Yeah" she said finally looking up. She grabbed her bag and followed Cameron to the door.

Cameron slowly opened the door and ushered Evi in. She wished that she had tidied up a bit but then again, she didn't expect her daughter to show up either.

Evi slowly paced around the room looking at everything. She saw lots of candles and ornaments. She walked up to the mantel and saw a photo in a beautiful silver frame. In it was an old picture of Cameron; younger, smiling and all dressed up. Standing next to her, with his arm around her waist, was a young man who Evi didn't recognize. She slowly traced their faces with her finger. When she heard a slight shifting noise behind her, she immediately dropped her hand back down to her side.

That was my husband" Cameron stated softly

"Was?" Evi asked slowly turning. She had an idea of what Cameron meant by 'was' but she wanted to know if she was right.

"Umm yeah he died a few years ago" Cameron said turning away from Evi so she couldn't see the tears that were falling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," said Evi walking over to the couch where Cameron now sat.

"It's not your fault" Cameron said finally turning to Evi and giving her a reassuring smile.

"Was he my-" asked Evi hesitantly, trying not to hurt Cameron.

"No" Cameron said quickly.

"Oh" Evi sighed.

"Here I'll show you were you can sleep" Cameron said quickly changing the subject.

Evi stood up and grabbed her bag. Cameron had already started to walk down the hall. She stopped outside the spare room. It had a daybed which sat right next to the window and Cameron often sat there and looked out the window whenever she had a bad day.

"I'm sorry that it's not like a room a teenager would own" Cameron said as she moved from the doorway and over to the window where she drew back the blinds.

"No it's lovely," said Evi, as she too moved into the room and sat on the bed. She started to play with the soft white and pink bedspread, with her fingers.

"Umm… the bathroom's across the hall, sorry we'll have to share cause I only have one since I usually don't get visitors." said Cameron as she moved across the room and sat next to Evi.

"Thanks, you don't know how much this means to me" said Evi as she moved closer to Cameron and put her head on her shoulder. Surprised, because of the sudden contact Cameron jumped. Evi immediately removed her head and looked away.

"No sorry I just wasn't expecting it" Cameron said and placed her arm around Evi shoulders and pulled her closer to her.

For what seemed like hours, they both just sat there and looked out the window.

Finally Evi spoke up, "Will I ever meet him?" she asked.

At first Cameron didn't realize what she was talking about because she was so far away thinking about everything that had been happening.

"Umm.. no, I don't know where he is" she said finally.

"Ok" Evi spoke softly. She paused, thinking for a few moments, and then spoke just barely in a whisper, "why didn't you want me?"

Cameron slowly turned and faced Evi. Then she spoke. She talked about everything that had happened. She talked about getting married and being the happiest that she had been in a long time. She talked about the day that she finally had to give up her baby girl.

Both Cameron and Evi had started to cry again. Cameron had to stop for a while but she finally regained her voice.

She talked about moving away and coming to New Jersey. She talked about starting a new life, away from everything in her past. She explained how she had to move away so that she could start a new life where no-one knew about her.

As Cameron finished, Evi lifted her head.

"I'm sorry, I caused you so much pain" she said wiping her eyes.

"It's not your fault," Cameron said feeling guilty that she had made her own daughter feel that way.

"I thought that you gave me up, because you didn't love me. But I was wrong. You gave me up but you did what was best for me and that goes to show just how much you care." Evi said.

Cameron was overcome with emotion that all she could do was nod. They sat in silence for a moment then Evi spoke.

"Would you do something for me?" she asked pulling her bag closer to her, from where it lay on the floor.

"Yeah of course" Cameron replied shifting slightly and moved off the bed.

"Would you sit for me?" Evi said digging around in her bag until she pulled out a large drawing pad.

"Umm…okay…" Cameron said with a bit of a confused look on her face because she wasn't quite sure why Evi was asking.

"It's just in case I have to go back and never see you again" said Evi, as if she had just read Cameron's mind.

"Oh" said Cameron, "where do you want to do it then?"

"Just here" Evi said as she placed herself on the floor next to the paper and pencils. "Would you sit on the bed and look out the window?"

Cameron nodded and walked over to the bed to lean against the windowsill.

From where Evi was sitting there was just enough light to bring out the light brown highlights in Cameron's hair and the light green flecks in her eyes. She sat there just looking at her, just admiring how beautiful she was.

"Is everything okay?" Cameron asked, as she turned her head.

"Oh yeah fine. You're just really pretty. I hope I look like you when I grow up"

Cameron smiled softly, "Thanks"

"Could you let your hair out, I like it better that way" said Evi as she picked up a pencil and started to draw the outline of Cameron.

Cameron brought her hand up to the clip that held her hair back and undid the clasp. Her hair fell around her shoulders in loose curls.

After a while Cameron started to get a bit stiff, and Evi could see her shifting.

"You can move you know…and talk" Evi said as she grabbed her colored pencils and started to draw in the fine detail of Cameron's face.

"Oh sorry…never done this before" Cameron said with a smile as she untucked the leg she'd been sitting on.

"So.." Cameron started. "Tell me what I've missed out on"

"Well I go to a special school designed for students who are serious about art. Ummm….my drawing won the national competition last year. I love reading and if I was allowed to spend every Sunday in my room with a good book I would"

Cameron gave a soft laugh. 'S_he's just like me' _she thought to herself.

"Umm I really don't know what else to say" Evi said as she finally stood up and stretched. "All done" she bent down and picked up the drawing that she had just finished. She took it over to where Cameron was sitting and sat down on the bed beside her.

"Hope you like it" she said as she turned the drawing pad around.

Cameron just sat there. On the piece of paper was the most beautiful drawing she'd ever seen. There was Cameron sitting on the bed, staring out the window. Her hair was a beautiful golden brown where the sun was hitting it coming in through the window. Her eyes were a jade green with a hint of honey. She wore an expression on her face that showed that she was lost in her train of thought.

"Oh Evi it's beautiful," said Cameron as she could feel her eyes welling up with tears.

"Thanks, you can keep it if you'd like I can always do another one" said Evi, carefully tearing off the page and handing it to Cameron.

"Thank-you" Cameron said wiping the tears from her eyes and hugging Evi.

She glanced at the clock that was sitting next to the bed. It was already 6:00pm. Had she really been sitting there that long?

"I'm really hungry what about you? How 'bout some take-out?" Cameron asked as she slid off the bed.

"Yeah" Evi replied, as she moved and started to pack up her drawing things.

Just then there was a knock at the door._ 'It's probably just Mrs. Spencer from down the hall'_

"I'll be back in a minute. There are a bunch of menus on the fridge. Take a look and pick something you'd like." Cameron asked as she moved out of the room and down the hall.

The knocking continued to get louder and harder

"I'm coming," Cameron called as she open the door.

As she opened it she gasped. There, leaning against her door frame holding two plastic bags was House.

"House?" Cameron asked. She just prayed that Evi would stay in her room and not come out.

"Yes the one and only me" House snorted.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Cameron asked looking back into the house to see where Evi was.

"I come bearing food" House said holding up the two bags and pushing past Cameron into the house.

"I'm in the mood for piz- Oh hi House" Evi said as she walked into the kitchen.

"What the- " House said as he looked back and forth from Cameron to Evi and back again

Cameron just sighed. _'It's going to be a long night'_ she thought.


	6. Chapter 6 Explanations

Chapter 6

"Okay I know you care about your patients and all but bringing them home, is that even allowed?" House asked Cameron as he turned around to face her.

Cameron just stood there unsure of what to say.

"I'm her cousin" Evi said finally breaking the silence.

"What?" House asked.

" Oh yeah right, she's my cousin from Chicago" Cameron said as she finally pulled herself together.

"Right and you're sick how?" he said turning back to Evi.

" Well you see ummm it all started when I started getting really bad headaches and I couldn't read properly, and they couldn't find out what was wrong so they sent me here because Aunty….. my aunty was here and she said that they had a really good team of doctors who could help me."

"But your right as rain in like 2 days?" House asked, as he started to get the feeling that something was going on.

"Well yeah, at first they thought I might have had a tumor, but turns out that I have Diabetic retinopathy, which is because I have high blood glucose and sugar, I'm starting to lose my eyesight. Which is kinda a good thing cause, now I know I have diabetes and if they hadn't have found-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I know I'm a doctor in case you didn't notice. But then again I thought they just put M.D on the end of my name to look cool and smart… chicks dig that," said House sarcastically and winked at Cameron, "this really brings a whole new meaning to ' you love and want to make a connection with your patients,"

Cameron could feel the anger starting to rise inside her body. " She's part of my family, House what could I say, 'no' and beside I was just being nice, but I suppose you wouldn't have any concept of that because you don't know how to act like a normal human being!"

It took a while for House to recover from Cameron's outburst and just as House opened his mouth to say something, Cameron interrupted.

"Get out of this house," she was starting to get really angry.

"But I brought dinner," House replied in a whiny voice, holding up the bags,

"House I swear if you don't move, I'll snap your other leg in half," Cameron said through gritted teeth, as she moved to the door and opened it.

House could see that Cameron was clearly getting upset and tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he grumbled as he gave Evi and Cameron a nod and headed out the door.

Both Evi and Cameron stood in silence, thinking of what to say to break the silence. Finally Cameron spoke up, "I'm not so hungry anymore, if you want anything there's stuff in the freezer, I'm going to bed. I'm very sorry." she moved down the hall and as then as Evi heard the sound of her door close, she thought it would be best to leave Cameron alone.

Cameron was both physically and emotionally exhausted. Every thing that had happened was finally catching up with her. She changed out of her work clothes and got into bed.

Evi decided that she wasn't hungry anymore either so she decided it would be okay to go to bed even though it was only 6:45.

She shuffled down the hall and into her room where she got changed. She cleaned her teeth and hopped into bed. She lay still for a moment just thinking about everything that had happened. She wondered why House was so interested in Cameron's personal life. She turned off the light and rolled over and lay on her side. She listened to the sounds of cars go by, and as she listened carefully she could of sworn that she heard the sound of Cameron crying.


	7. Chapter 7 The morning after

**Chapter 7**

Cameron woke as light poured through her window. She rubbed her eyes as the thoughts of last night passed through her head.

Then she remembered, **_Evi._**

She quietly got out of bed and tiptoed into the younger girl's room. Sure enough Evi was lying peacefully in bed with the covers pulled right up to her chin.

Cameron walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. She slowly moved a hand up to Evi's face and softly brushed the dark brown curls that hung over her face.

Evi's eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked up at Cameron with her beautiful green eyes.

"Hey," said Cameron

"Morning," yawned Evi sleepily as she turned to loo out the window.

"I'm sorry about last night," Cameron said as she stood up and started to fold the clothes that were sitting on the floor.

"It's ok," replied Evi as she slowly sat up and eased herself out of bed. "Umm… I just have a question"

"Yeah?" said Cameron as she placed the neatly folded clothes on the chair. She was surprised just how easy the whole mother thing was coming to her.

"What do you want me to call you? Cause last night I went to say aunty but I couldn't remember your name sorry," asked Evi.

"It's Allison, and you can call me what ever you want," said Cameron moving over to where Evi was standing.

"Would it be ok if I called you mum?" Evi asked, "I mean I understand if you don't wan-" she added hurriedly but Cameron cut her off.

"Sure, I suppose it would be nice to be called mum, I mean I've never had any other children," Cameron said smiling.

"Do you want to?" Evi asked, then shook her head. "Sorry I shouldn't have asked I mean about your husband and all,"

"No it's fine. Sure I'd love to have more children, but I have to have them with someone that I'm truly in love with," Cameron said.

"Oh," Evi said softly.

"Is everything ok?" Cameron asked as she guided Evi backwards to sit on the bed.

"Yeah, I just think that maybe it would of been best if I didn't come. I mean I really wanted to see you but I don't want to screw up your life."

"No, I love it that you come and found me, but if you want to go home, I'll call your parents and let them know you're here," Cameron said

"Do you ever get lonely?" asked Evi, once again regretting her words.

"Sometimes yeah, I do," started Cameron, "When I'm at home sometimes I wish there would be someone to call out 'I'm home,' or 'I've cooked you dinner' but then I kinda do have a family. There's Chase, Foreman, Wilson, Cuddy and Hou…They look after me and make sure I'm fine,"

"Oh," said Evi softly, "speaking of families, I should probably call my parents they've probably had heart attacks by now"

Cameron chuckled softly "Yeah of course the phone's just down the hall. And when you're done would you mind if I spoke to them?"

"Yeah sure," replied Evi as she pushed herself off the bed and slowly walked towards the door. As she reached the door she stopped and turned back and ran into Cameron's arms.

Cameron was shocked by the kind gesture and slowly but reassuringly she put her arms around the young girls back.

Evi looked up at Cameron, "Thank-you for letting me stay, it means a lot to me to know that I'm loved,"

"Anytime," Cameron said with a smile as she placed a light kiss on Evi's forehead.

Evi turned and walked back to the door and down the hall. Cameron remained on the bed and looked out the window and sighed. Everything that she had been trying to run away from all her life was finally catching up to her. As she looked down the street, she watched a young couple holding hands and pushing a stroller. Cameron watched as the man placed his hands on the woman's waist and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. The woman smiled and hugged the man in return. Suddenly, as Cameron pushed a lock of hair away from her face, she felt her cheeks had become wet and realized that she had been crying. Just watching the couple made her feel lonely and unwanted. She turned away from the window and pushed herself off the bed. Down the hall, she could her Evi chatting away to her family. Having a family, was one of the things that Cameron had wished for since she was a little girl. Getting married to a nice and caring man and having children was what she wished for every birthday since she was 4.

A sharp beeping sound interrupted Cameron's thoughts and she quickly ran out of the room, to the kitchen bench to where her pager was sitting. The words _WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? THE PATIENT JUST HAD A STROKE _flashed across the screen and Cameron ran down the hall to where Evi was leaning against the wall, phone pressed against her ear.

"Evi, there's a new patient at the hospital and they need me, could you run and get dressed?" Cameron asked as she interrupted the younger girl's conversation. Giving a quick thought on whether or not to leave Evi at home, but decided against it. She would have to face the fact that eventually everyone would find out.

"Look I got to go but I'll call later ok?" Evi said into the phone. Cameron rushed down the hall and threw on the first thing that she pulled out of her cupboard. Running into the bathroom she looked at her self in the mirror and quickly put on a bit of make-up that would at least make her look a bit more respectable. She rushed out of her room and down the hall and sure enough there was Evi sitting at the kitchen table dressed in a pair of jeans, a light jacket and a pair of converse.

"Wow your fast," Cameron commented, as she grabbed her keys and hurried to the door. Evi, grabbed her bag off the table and ran, as she struggled to keep up with Cameron.


	8. Chapter 8 Morning Rush

**Disclaimer: I don't own House tear**

**Thanks once again to my beautiful beta ponks19**

&

**Theshowpopper who always reviews!**

**Chapter 8**

As soon as Cameron and Evi pulled up at PPTH, Cameron practically ran out of the car and into the building. Evi was having a hard time keeping up with Cameron as she dodged patients sitting and standing in the Clinic waiting room.

Evi eventually lost sight of Cameron and stopped walking. She turned around to go look for someone to ask where to go but instead she crashed into a man's chest and dropped her bag.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Evi quickly apologized and bent down to pick up the papers that were scatted all over the floor.

"No, it was my fault I wasn't watching," replied the man as he bent down to help Evi. While he was picking up the paper, something caught his eye.

"Oh my god your-" the man whispered, looking up at the young girl.

"I'm Dr. Wilson," the man said extending his hand.

Evi looked up and took the man's hand and shook it gently, "Evi," she said putting all the things back in her bag. The pair stood up and finally got a good look at each other.

Wilson couldn't believe his eyes. There standing in front of him was a girl, not much older than 13 who had the exact eyes and auburn hair as Cameron.

"Umm I don't know if you can help me," Evi started, feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation, "But do you happen to know where Dr. Cameron works?"

"Sure, come with me. I was just heading up to see her anyway," replied Wilson, as he led Evi toward the elevator.

The ride up was a short one, but the silence made it seem twice as long.

"This way," said Wilson stepping out of the lift as it reached the floor. Evi followed Wilson until they reached the glass conference room.

"Just wait here for a second," Wilson said motioning Evi to stay outside. "It was nice to finally meet you,"

"You too," Evi called out as Wilson stepped into the conference room to where Cameron was talking frantically on the phone. _Finally? _Evi thought about Dr. Wilson's last comment, as Cameron came out the door.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I was in a rush and wa-" Cameron started as she rushed over to Evi's side.

"Nah its fine," Evi cut in. She figured the only reason Cameron had run off is because she wasn't used to having a 13 year old daughter tagging along behind her.

"Doctor Cameron, how nice of you to join us," came a deep male voice from behind Cameron.

Evi saw her mum cringe before she turned around and faced who ever was behind her. As soon as Evi saw the man's face she immediately recognized him as House.

"Gosh I didn't know it was bring the family to work day," said House with a sarcastic tone, "If I had of know I would have brought my cousin, she can do this really kinky thing with her-"

"Sorry, I'm late," Cameron cut him off. "And Evi has to spend the day here, I'm not leaving her at home alone," and with that she took Evi's hand less abusive sounding ) and walked with her into the conference room

"Right, guys this is Evi," Cameron said as she moved over towards the table where every one was sitting, "Evi this is Chase, Foreman and I see you've already met Wilson,"

Evi shuffled around the table shaking everyone's hand in turn.

Both Chase and Foreman opened their mouths to say something, but the look that Cameron gave them told them that they didn't want to ask.

By the time Evi made it around the table and took a spot next to Cameron, House had come back in.

"What no introduction?" House said as he walked over to the white board and picked up a whiteboard maker.

"House, you've already met her," Cameron said as she picked up the patient's file that was sitting on the table.

"Twice," Evi added, giving a small smile to Cameron.

"Whatever," House muttered, "Right people, what caused the stroke?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a while, Evi got bored and pulled out her drawing pad. She turned over to a new page and started to draw.

She wondered why Cameron was so tense when she was around House and why she didn't want him to know that she had a daughter.

While Evi was drawing she let the words of the conversation around her flow over her. Occasionally she's look up and watch Cameron as her eyes followed House as he moved about the room.

Suddenly four pagers went off at the same time. Wilson, Chase and Foreman all stood up and rushed out of the room. Cameron hurried over to Evi.

"Just wait here," she said then glanced over at House.

"Why do people always give me that look when I'm going to be left alone with a child? Kids love me! They call me Uncle Greg." House said as he moved from where he was making coffee and over to the table.

"We'll be fine," said Evi reassuringly and gave Cameron a smile.

Cameron gave a tired smile back, and then hurried out of the room.

House lent over from where he was sitting and grabbed a folded piece of paper that was sitting next to Evi's bag.

"Hey, that's mine," Evi said as she walked over to where House was sitting and tried to grab the paper out of his hands.

"I just want to look," House said like a 3 year old, "Pwwweesse?"

"Fine," Evi sighed as she looked over House's shoulder to see what he had grabbed.

It was the picture of Cameron sitting on the bed looking out the window. Evi had grabbed it on her way out of the house so that she could copy it and keep one for herself.

House sat there stunned. Cameron looked absolutely fantastic even though she was dressed in the most casual of clothes.

"She's really beautiful, isn't she," Evi said softly.

House was so taken back by the picture that he couldn't say anything. It took him a while to answer.

"Yeah," he whispered.

Evi walked back to her seat and picked up her sketch pad. House folded the picture back up and placed it back where it was.

"You know, I don't think I've ever met a pair of cousins who look as similar as you and Cameron do," said House, studying Evi very carefully.

"Yeah well you know," Evi said looking up.

"But you both have the same hair, eyes and face. I'm guessing either sister or daughter and I'm guessing you're what, 13 and Cameron's early 30's. Now I'm not saying that it's impossible, but why would Cameron's parents want another baby for at the age I'm guessing they were if they had you?"

"Um…." Evi mumbled taken aback by House's deduction skills.

"Ahhh so it's the daughter option," House started, "But if Cameron's husband died when she was 21, and that was when she had you, she'd be about 34 or 35-ish. Now unless she's using a fantastic anti-aging cream, which I'd defiantly recommend she tell Cuddy about, I'm saying Cameron's only just turned about 30.So that means, you're not even the love child, legitimate or otherwise, of her first marriage." House sat there, waiting for some sort of response. His eyes felt like magnets, so powerful that Evi wanted to break the eye contact but couldn't bring her self to do so.

She sat in silence for a while, eyes fixed upon House, unsure of what to do. Deep down she knew that it should be Cameron having this conversation and not her, but regardless, she opened her mouth….


	9. Chapter 9 Answers

**DISLCAIMER: I don't own House…**

**THX again to my beautiful beta ponks19**

**Chapter 9**

Evi gazed into House's eyes, "It's not my secret to tell. It's Allison's but it's also none of your business to know."

House was silent, then nodded and she continued, "We all have secrets that we don't want others to know. That's why we lie…everybody lies." House couldn't help but smirk for he was far too familiar with that line. Evi continued, "It makes the people around us believe that everything in our life is perfect and nothing's wrong."

Evi watched House's face for some kind of reaction to what she was saying but his face had gone back to a blank expression, so she pressed on.

"I'm gonna tell you everything that I know. But you can't let her know that you know. It's all about the trust. A secret like this, like me is one of the biggest things you can keep from people. So when Allison feels that she can trust you with one of her deepest secrets that probably no one else knows, she'll tell you. Promise you won't say anything?"

House sat in silence for a while thinking about what Evi said. He hated to admit that she was one smart kid. But why didn't Cameron trust him? She was practically throwing herself at him, so why wouldn't she tell? His eyes finally met with Evi's and he nodded.

"Ok then," Evi stared, "Yes, I'm her daughter. I've been living in Chicago for almost 14 years with people who I'm actually not related to. Just a few months ago I found a picture and a birth certificate with my birth mother's name. I looked her up and came to see her. I don't know who my father is and I don't think Allis-Mum does either. Now that's all I know. The rest she'll tell you herself….when she's ready. But whatever you do, don't say a word. She's already handling too much with me turning up and then you showing up her door and seeing me. If she finds out I told, she might hate me, and it will probably push her over the edge. She won't have anyone to lean on. No boyfriend or anyone's shoulder that she can cry on. So now, you could do the one thing that a friend or in your case her boss would do and that's respect her and her secret."

Evi had turned away from House and was fighting back tears. She had already begun to regret telling House; her and Allison were getting along quite well and now she may have ruined everything. She recomposed, turned around and looked back up at House's face. This time when she looked in his eyes she could see that he had taken in every word that she said and was taking time to process all of the information.

Finally after what seemed like years, Cameron walked back into the room. She sensed the tension and looked back and forth between House and Evi.

"What's going on here?" she asked

House opened his mouth to say something but Evi got in first.

"Nothing. Dr. House was just complimenting me on my drawing." Evi said held up her sketchpad which now had a picture of House, who was staring blankly on it. House's eyes widened in surprise at how good the drawing actually was.

Cameron looked a bit puzzeled and asked "House doesn't give compliments…he doesn't do nice. How did you strongarm him into saying something nice about your drawing?" A strong hint of sarcasm, mixed with confusion, in her voice.

Evi, unsure of what to say next, looked down defeated, but then she heard House speak.

"Well I didn't actually comment on the drawing moreso of the subject. I mean look at me…I'm gorgeous!" He said flicking his head back for any effect. And with that he stood up and walked into his office. Evi watched him go and when Cameron turned her back to look at the file, Evi saw House sitting in his chair watching TV. He must of sensed her watching him, because he looked up and when he saw Cameron wasn't watching, he winked at Evi. Evi smiled softly and winked back, then House saw that Chase and Foreman were coming so he looked back down at the TV.

The other ducklings who had now just enter the room, were talking about the current patient.

"Well it could be because of the medication," Forman said as he held the door open.

"Yeah but it wouldn't explain why her white-Whoa!" Chase said as he stepped behind Evi.

"What-Jeez" said Forman as he saw what Chase was looking at.

"Well I thought it looked good," Evi said, slightly embarrassed, as she turned around in her chair.

"No… that's not….. what we meant," stumbled Chase, "It's fantastic, it's just that it makes House seem almost….kind…and nice"

"I'm right here…I can hear you, you know," a voice called from the other room. Everyone in the room including Evi rolled their eyes.

Foreman and Chase moved around the table and sat down. Chase picked up the paper and stared on a crossword. Foreman gave Chase a dirty look for 'slacking off' while he looked through the patient's cart. Cameron attempted to review the chart as well, to find an answer for the latest symptoms, but she ended up just staring out the window.

A sudden sound of the door opening made everyone jump.

"Why…do people…lie?" House's voice drawled out slowly.

"To avoid the truth," Cameron said finally turning her attention back to the rest of the room.

"Yes and no," House said pacing around the room. "Someone once told me, that people lie because they don't want others to know secrets about them. She also said that secrets belong to individuals, and are only for that individual to tell,"

Evi looked up and saw that House was looking at her.

House continued, "We keep secrets because we want other people to think that there's nothing wrong in our lives, that everything's perfect. So what if the patient lied about sleeping around. Maybe the bruise wasn't from her falling down the stairs."

"What? Are you saying that she gave herself the bruises?" Forman asked..

"No, but I'm saying she lied. Maybe it was her husband. Maybe it was a guy who she slept with. Chase, go talk to her. Foreman, keep the husband out of the room."

They both nodded and walked out of the room. That left Cameron, Evi and House.

Evi looked at Cameron who now had tears in her eyes.

"House," Cameron started in barely a whisper. "Maybe people lie because they think that if they tell someone, that person will be angry or mock them."

"Cameron.." House started

"I don't tell you anything because I know you'll find a way rub it in my face. I opened up to you about some of the deepest secrets in my heart." Tears were now falling down her face and she angrily brushed them away. "You told me you won't crush me, so I opened up to you about my husband. I opened up about my feelings for you. And what did you do? You shut me down, you call me pathetic, you call me a stuffed animal made by grandma!." Her last words filled with anger.

House was actually starting to feel guilty. Why had he rubbed them in her face? Was it to protect himself from opening up or just something that he did because he was scared of getting hurt?

"Now, on account of you're going to find out anyway, I'm going to tell you something that is just as deep as those other things" Cameron made her way and sat down at the table. House followed and sat down next to her.

"Evi's my daughter. My husband wasn't her father. I don't know who is. I gave her away because I couldn't lie to him and say he was the father. When my husband died, I moved to Jersey to star over…to wipe my slate clean. I figured that if no one else knew about my past, that I would be able to hid from it, that I wouldn't have to deal with the pain. But I was wrong. I had to deal with it everyday. Then I met you. You changed my life because you gave me other things to be upset about, like how you always boss me around. And it kinda helped. It took away some pain. But just like the pain in your leg, I carry it around everyday."

Cameron stopped, eventually breaking down into tears. Evi, who had been silent for the most part, now got up and went around to the side of the table. She passed Cameron a tissue and gave her a hug.

House, who much to Cameron's surprise had stayed silent the whole time, now spoke up.

"Cameron, take the day off. We'll manage without you…you should spend it with Evi." And with one final look at Cameron and Evi he got up and walked back into his office.

"I'll grab your bag and let's go," Evi said giving a weak smile as she moved over towards the desk. She could see that House's eyes were on her and she turned around to meet his gaze.

"Thank-you" she mouthed silently. He nodded and went back to watching TV.

Evi grabbed Cameron's things and walked over to a now, calmer Cameron.

"Let's go," Cameron said grabbing her bag off Evi and they both walked out the door, House's eyes watching them the whole time.

**PLEASE R&R and if you have any suggestions or something let me know cause it would be greatly appreciated. **


	10. Chapter 10 Phone Numbers

**Chapter 10**

Evi and Cameron both sat in silence on the drive home. As soon as they entered the apartment, Cameron went straight to her room and closed the door, as if she was ignoring Evi's existence. Thinking that maybe Cameron needed some space and time to think, Evi wandered into the lounge room. She walked over to the bookshelves and scanned the titles for something to read when her eyes found a worn olive green book with no title on the spine.

She carefully slipped it out of its place and took it over to the couch and sat down. Opening to the first page, she realized that it was a photo album.

There staring straight back at her was a younger looking Cameron on what Evi supposed was her wedding day. She was twirling around, her dress spinning out to the sides, smiling at the person standing behind the camera. Evi thought she looked happier than she did now, and in a way a lot more healthy. There was a glow in her cheeks and her eyes sparkled.

On the next page, Cameron was dancing with a man who Evi recognized as Cameron's husband. Evi smiled, they seemed so happy together and as if they didn't have a care in the world. Skipping a few pages, Evi opened up to a section which seemed more recent. There was a picture, of Cameron standing in between Chase and Foreman, all laughing. Evi recognized that they were in the Hospital Clinic, but it didn't look the same as when she went there. Still it must not have been something fancy because they were all dressed casually.

Then, as Evi turned another page of the photo album, something fell out and onto the floor. Bending down to pick it up, Evi looked at the writing on the back;

_**Cameron, I found this when I was looking through a**_

_**bunch of photos that I took at last year's benefit. I**_

_**don't think you'll remember me taking it because we were**_

_**all tipsy at the time. I figured you might like it, just**_

_**something to remember him by. And just remember**_

_**even though he won't show it, he'll miss you.**_

_**WILSON**_

Turning the picture over, Evi smiled. There was Cameron, dressed in a black cocktail dress, her curls flowing over her shoulders. And what surprised Evi the most was that House, who was in a tux, had his arm slung loosely around Cameron's waist. They both seemed happy and were both smiling which Evi didn't think she had seen House do yet. Evi carefully slipped the photo back into place and turned the page.

A purple and white corsage that had been pressed, was sitting in the middle of an empty page. Evi fingered it carefully. Even though it was dried up, it still looked beautiful and Evi began to imagine what it would look like if it were fresh.

"House gave me that," a soft voice said from behind Evi. She turned and saw that Cameron had gotten changed and taken off all her make-up. She walked over the couch and sat down.

"That was nice of him," Evi commented turning to face her.

"Yeah I was surprised that the event even happened at all," Cameron said with a small chuckle.

"Why?" Evi asked.

"Well a man named Edward Vogler used to work and the hospital and he told House he had to fire someone. Wilson told me House had a really tough time choosing and in the end picked Chase. But apparently, Vogler wouldn't let House fire him, so I saved House the trouble and quit," Cameron said looking down at her hands.

"You quit because you wanted to make it easier on House?" Evi asked.

"Well yes and no. I could see it was getting to House so I helped him out. But the truth is I liked him and he told me straight to my face that he didn't like me so I was saving myself from being hurt," Cameron replied.

"But why'd you come back?"

"Because Wilson called me and told me that House couldn't- well chose not to hire a replacement and kept turning down all the perfect people. House showed up at the door twice asking me to come back. The 2nd time he told me that I could have more pay or parking if I came back, but I told him that he had to go on a date with me. I didn't think he'd do it but he did," Cameron said reliving the memories.

"So he brought you this when you went out? Evi asked

"Yeah, he took me to a restaurant and gave it to me. That was probably the best thing that happened all night. We didn't talk much and then I asked about how he really felt. He never did give me a straight answer though," Cameron said thinking about what House had told her that night. "At the time, I didn't really think about what he said, but now I'm actually starting to believe him. He told me that I didn't love, I needed and that's why I wanted to date him. Because he had a cane and a bum leg,"

"Oh," Evi said quietly, "But do you only like him cause of his imperfection?"

"No," Cameron said, shaking her head and letting out an embarrassed little laugh, "I liked…I like him because of a lot of things and I dunno, but just being around him makes me content. You know what; I don't even care if he's happy with a blonde haired and impressive lady, as long as that makes him happy,"

Both sat in silence for a while, only to be interrupted by the phone ringing. Cameron got off the couch and walk to the kitchen to answer it. Evi sat patiently while Cameron spoke to whoever was on the phone. Flicking through the final pages of the album, Evi continued to look at pictures of Cameron and various people who Evi didn't recognize as being from the hospital.

After a while Cameron came back into the room, her eyes all puffy and red.

"What's the matter?" Evi asked, concerned.

"Nothing it doesn't matter," replied Cameron obviously not wanting to talk about the subject. Evi, seeing Cameron tense up dropped the subject.

"I'll be in my room for a little while, there's some work I need to catch up on," Cameron said, "There's things for lunch in the freezer if you get hungry," and with that she walked back out of the room and down the hall. Evi, a bit surprised that Cameron was using her day off to work, silently creped down the hall and pressed her ear up to Cameron's door.

"Look I'm sorry, I just can't," Cameron said in a hushed voice, "you know how angry they were when I decided to keep her," Evi opened the door a tiny crack and saw Cameron pacing up and down the room, phone pressed against her ear.

"I'm sorry. If I can find someone to look after her, I'll come," she paused; the person on the other line was obviously talking. "No, no-one knows about her besides Wilson and House. It's not that I don't trust Wilson, but he's having a hard time with his wife."

She paused again, a frown crossing her face. "What leave her with House! No-one in their right mind would do that. Look, just tell mum I'm sorry I can't come." "Yeah I know she's going to die, I know, I just don't want to put her under more stress at the moment."

Evi, feeling slightly guilty for snooping, but she didn't need to hear any more; she quietly crept back to the kitchen and found Cameron's bag sitting on the counter. She reached in and pulled out Cameron's cell phone.

"Bingo," she whispered silently as she scrolled through the phonebook and found the number she was looking for.


	11. Chapter 11 Negotiations

**Sorry that this chapter took so long. I had a bit of trouble writing it but I finally got there. As always thanks to my beta ponks19 and of course all the people that review. Just a word of warning, there might be a bit of House being out of character in this and maybe the next chapter, but he will be back to him old self soon.**

**Chapter 11**

House sat at his piano, staring at the black and white keys contemplating how he'd gone all soft letting Cameron take the day off, and more importantly why he was listening to a teenage girl who just 'entered' his life less than a week ago.

After Cameron and Evi left, he decided to take the day off as well; writing a note to Chase and Foreman saying he had to go do something. House quickly left the hospital trying carefully to avoid both Cuddy and Wilson.

The sound of his cell phone jerked him from his thoughts and he slid off the piano bench and went to answer it. Not checking the caller ID House flipped open the phone.

"What?" he said in a gruff voice.

"House I need a favor," came a small voice from the receiver.

"I thought I told you to spend the day with Cameron," said House

"I was but something came up and now I don't know what to do, well actually I do but I really need your help. When we got home there was-" Evi started to ramble.

"Look. I'm tired and I don't need this stuff from a 10 year old kid," House said rubbing his hands over his tired eyes.

"Whoa! OK first of all I'm 13 almost 14," started Evi.

"Yeah and that makes you so much more mature," House muttered.

"Whatever. And second of all, I know from being around you for like, 2 days, that you're not exactly the most caring person on the planet. But I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't know there was some good in you," Evi continued.

"You're so like you're mother you know that" House said. His other hand that wasn't holding the phone, fumbled around in his pocket, until he found his bottle of Vicodon, flipped the lid and popped two into his mouth.

Evi could hear the rattling of the pill bottle and sighed, "You've really gotta get off those pills you know."

"Oh so now you're my mother?" House questioned.

"No" Evi snapped back. House could hear a small sigh coming from the other end. "Look, I just need you to give Allison a few days off. Please. She really needs it,"

"Why?" House gruffly replied.

"Let me tell you something." Evi started, "You walk around the hospital all day acting like a baby who got their dummy taken off them. You take pills because you think you're totally consumed in pain because of your leg. You shut off the world and have almost no-one to talk to. There are people in this world House, who have to deal with pain that's ten times worse than yours. The scar might not be one that other people can see, but it doesn't mean the person who bares it, can't feel it. They have to carry around so much pain, grieving, horror, terror, so much sadness and loss….but they always have a smile on their face. They go around acting as if they're the happiest person on earth. They talk to strangers as if they'd known them a lifetime. What makes them so different from you is, although they carry so much all day everyday, they can do two things that you can't. They can care and they can love," Evi finally feel silent.

"You have no idea how much pain I'm in," House half mumbled.

"How is anyone to know if you won't open up and talk?" Evi paused before continuing, "Now can you just give her a few days off? Please?" Evi pleaded.

"I'll consider it as long as you tell me why?" House asked.

"Some things are better for you not to know. But just like when she told you that I was her daughter, I'm sure mum will tell you when she's ready," Evi sighed.

"Then sorry no can do," House said.

"Fine," Evi tiredly replied, "her mum's sick,"

"That's all?" House asked.

"That's not enough?" came Evi's reply.

"Well sort of. I thought maybe a cat got stuck in a tree in California and she took it as her duty go and rescue it. Now that's worth time off," House said sarcastically.

"House. Be serious" Evi said

"Is that House?" came Cameron's voice from the other end of the line. "Give me the phone Evi"

There was shuffling and a bit of muttering and then House heard Cameron's voice. "What House?"

"I didn't call you she called me," House replied in a three-year-old voice

"House,"

"How long do you need off?" House tried a different approach

"Just a couple of- wait did you just ask me how long I wanted off?" Cameron asked.

"Yes. Is that such a shock? Wait don't answer that." House said.

"Look. House I don't need it. It's OK," House could hear that Cameron's voice was becoming shaky.

"How sick is she?" he asked.

"You don't need to know. Just stay out of my personal life OK? You shut everyone out of your personal life so why are you trying to get into mine?" Cameron started to yell.

"I jus-" House interrupted but Cameron cut him off.

"I'm not done yet. When your parents came I didn't eat with you. I hardly even spoke to them. I didn't say anything when Stacey came back apart from the fact that you loved and still love her. I stayed away. Even though it may seem like I always want to get to know you, I know when to stop. But you don't. You just keep pushing. Pushing people away, your even beginning to push Wilson away. But most of all you push me away. What are you so afraid of House? That I'll tell everyone your secrets?" then there was silence.

House thought for a moment then spoke, "Cameron. Why are you always trying to get close to me? You're always behind me, always backing me up? Why?"

Uneven breathing was the only reply he got. Finally after what seemed a lifetime, Cameron's voice broke the silence.

"I just need 2 weeks tops. But I can't. I've got a family now. Well, kind of. But I can't just leave Evi yet I'm not ready to send her away. And if I take her with me that will just make things worse. Mum and Dad will be so angry. Actually I'm surprised that they even want to see me again"

"I could stay at House's" came a soft voice.

"No that's not a good idea," House could hear Cameron beginning to argue.

"Why not?" Evi pressed

"Because you're not his responsibility,"

"But you said it would just be for like 2 weeks. Hell it might even do him so good," Evi continued with a cocked eyebrow.

"Look House. I'm sorry to bother you," It seemed as though both her and Evi had forgotten that he was still there.

"I'll do it," House said softly

"WHAT?" Cameron practically yelled, "You never do anything nice,"

"Oh my gosh he said yes! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!" House could hear Evi in the background.

"Cameron. Just go see your mum. But there's a condition," House said

"Good Lord here we go," House could practically heard Cameron roll her eyes.

"Gravedigger is coming to town next month. Buy me a ticket,"

"That's it?" Cameron seemed shocked.

"Nope. I want unlimited access to everything. And of course you'll be paying me for the food that your Mini-Me eats and you have to get me out of clinic duty for a while," House said

"House. I can't afford that. Those passes are like $2000 each. "

House snorted "OK maybe $1000. But I'm still not paying that." Cameron said.

"Cameron. If you don't go and mother dearest departs this world, you'll never forgive yourself. And you'll go around moping for months"

There was silence. "Fine," Cameron finally agreed.

"Oh goody! We're going to have so much fun painting each other nails," House said like a 9 year old girl who had just been told her friend could sleepover.

"I'll be over with Evi in an hour," Cameron said

"Wait. She's so not staying over here" House quickly said.

"House you just said you'd watch her" Cameron replied.

"I'm coming over there," House said sneakily "Maybe I'll find some nice pink panties that I can wear"

"There's nowhere for you to sleep beside the couch," Cameron replied

"What's wrong with your room? I'm sure the hookers would love the flower design," House said

"You are so not bringing hookers into my house. And beside, they might be disappointed as I don't have flowers on my wallpaper," Cameron said almost equaling his snarkiness.

"Whatever. I'll be there in an hour," House said and roughly hung up the phone.

_What on earth had he gotten himself into?_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**:) Go on hit the button, you know you want to :)**


	12. Chapter 12 PART1 Boybands

**Chapter 12**

**After Cameron had finished talking to House, Evi walked over to her. "I'm sorry," she said softly**

**"Although you may think you understand, this is way over your head" Cameron said turning to her. "Adult business is something that you should only have to deal with when you're a grown-up"**

**"I just wanted to help," Evi said sincerely**

**"I know it's just., You must have realized that House and I have a history." She quickly added when she saw Evi's face, "Well not in that way but you know what I mean right? Wait a sec, how did he know that my mum was sick anyway? How did you know?" Cameron asked.**

**"I kinda eavesdropped and I called him for help" Evi answered.**

**"I'm not used to the whole being a 'Mum' thing yet so I don't know what to do with you…Do I ground you? …Well, I think spending two weeks with House is punishment enough" Cameron said softly chuckling.**

**"Yeah," Evi said giving Cameron a hug. "I'm sorry that I came here. I need to learn to mind my own business."**

**"It's OK…none of this is your fault. I'm happy that you came, I like having someone else around," said Cameron "C'mon I'm a horrible packer, I could use your help"**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**House walked down the hall and into his room. Why was he doing this? How did he let his guard down enough to get talked into babysitting? It's not like he actually cared for Cameron, right? He had to admit that he was doing this partly because maybe he could find out more things about her and finally solve the puzzle that is Allison Cameron.**

**Walking over to his cupboard, House pulled out his work bag and started to throw some clothes into it. He was duped by a child…he was supposed to be the manipulator, not the manipulated dammit! Helping out other people was so not like him. He turned at looked at the clock. Jeez had an hour already gone by? He zipped up his bag and walked out towards the door. Just before leaving, House turned and grabbed a couple of DVDs and CDs so he would have something to do besides talk with Evi.**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Just as Evi finished rolling Cameron's bag out towards the door, a hard knock made her jump. As she slowly opened the door, she met the bright blue eyes of House.**

**"Hi, mum's just in her room grabbing a few more things," Evi said and moved to allow House to go in.**

**"Uhh…Wait here, I should probably talk to her alone before she goes," said House. The truth be told he didn't actually know what to say to Cameron. **

**"OK, it's the 2nd door on the right," said Evi as she moved into the kitchen.**

**House walked silently down the hall and put his hand on the knob. He sighed deeply and hung his head back in thought. Why did he even want to talk to Cameron? What the hell was he even going to say to her? He slowly opened the door a tiny crack, but stopped when he heard whispering. He looked through the crack and saw Cameron kneeling by the bed, as though she was praying. Through her sniffles and obvious sound of crying, he could hear her say, "Dear Lord, I know that I been a crappy Christian, an absent mother, and an even worse daughter, but please, spare my mom, save her, please. I know she's not perfect and I'm definitely far from it but, and despite our differences I love her and she is a good person. You're supposed to take care of good people…keep them from harm. Why are you making her suffer?"**

**House closed his eyes and he himself prayed to God that Cameron's prayers would be heard. He knew that Cameron had obviously been through more pain than anyone should ever have to endure in a lifetime, and she was still so young. He worried that if she had to go through something bad again, then maybe she'd be damaged beyond repair.**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

**He quietly knocked on the door and he saw Cameron jump to her feet and walk over.**

**"Hi House. I know you don't like being thanked but…thank-you for doing this. It means a lot to me to be able to go see my family." she said softly avoiding his gaze. House just nodded and continued to look at her, still of unsure what to say, if anything at all.**

**Cameron could sense his awkwardness so she continued. "Well, this is where you'll be sleeping," she said turning her back on him and waving her arm around the room, "bathroom's across the hall and sorry that you'll have to share with Evi."**

**"Oh," said House as he finally cast his gaze around the room. It was so…. not Cameron. He had expected a floral bedspread and ornaments sitting on every available space; ugly and stupid little gifts from former patients like in Wilson's office.**

**"She'll probably want to stay up and hang out with you but make sure that Evi gets to bed no later than 11:30. There's lots of food in the fridge, not a lot of junk food cuz I'd like for her to eat healthy, and for God's sake House, don't make her eat anything that she doesn't want to. Clean sheets are in the cupboard down the hall and they need to be changed once a week. The dishwasher's not working so you'll have to wash everything by hand, that is if you actually eat anything other than takeout straight from the containers. Maybe if you're feeling up to it the two of you can go for walks in the park…" - House bit back a snarky comment - "or she knows how to use the treadmill. Just don't let her sit around on the couch and -"**

**House cut her off, "You know Cameron, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you've been a mother all your life,"**

**Cameron turned away blushing, took a few seconds to recompose herself, and finally turned back to face House. **

**"I just don't want her to go through what I did as a kid," Cameron whispered and leaned against the doorframe. House could see that tears were starting to form in her eyes again.**

**As soon as they started to fall, she angrily brushed them away and walked over to the bed to sit down.**

**House hesitated for a moment then followed her and sat down, just close enough to feel the warmth of each other's thighs without them actually touching.**

**"This room's not very you," House said breaking the silence, "I expected pictures of boy bands and ponies to be hanging around everywhere. Who's hot these days anyway? Is it still Justin Timberlake?" **

**"There's no way I'm leaving them with you. You'd better back off cuz JT is mine," Cameron said with a small chuckle, despite the tears that were still falling onto her hands in her lap. **

"You know House, you can still back out…I won't be angry," said Cameron still not looking at him, "I can ask Wilson or I'll take Evi with me,"

House gave a slight chuckle, "Are you kidding me? And disappoint Angelique? You should have seen her eyes light up when I told her I found a place that we hadn't done it yet,"

"That's way too much information," Cameron said screwing her face up and letting her eyes finally meet with House's. House was amazed at how green Cameron's eyes had turned. Even though her eyes were puffy, her nose was running and her hair was slightly messed up, House felt a slight pain in his heart and an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something that he had only felt, once before, on the night he first got together with Stacy.


	13. Chapter 12 PART2 Angewhat's her face

Disclaimer: I don't own House, but Christmas is coming and Santa says my behavior has improved!

Soz about the delay on this chapter. There have been a couple of difficulties, but we finally got through it. Thx as always to my beta ponks19 and all the people who review especially theshowpopper, LiL-mIz-WhItE-gUrL and mikesh who review all the time!

Chapter 12 (Part 2)

Cameron had turned her head and was now looking out the window. Tears were still falling down her cheeks and House had the sudden urge to brush them away. Although he wasn't sure why. He didn't even like Cameron...did he? She was always following him, watching his every move. She was always making sure he was following the rules and doing the right thing. She annoyed him to no end. And yet, he was here, in her apartment, wanting to comfort her.

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He was jerked from his thoughts when he felt something land on his shoulder. He slowly turned his head and came face to face with the top of Cameron's head. She smelt of strawberries and a slight bit of mint. As if his arm had a mind of its own, he reached around her back and lazily rested his arm around her shoulders. He could feel the dampness of her tears as they started to soak through the thin fabric of his shirt. Sobs were starting to overcome her body and House could feel her beginning to shake underneath him. His other arm wrapped around her front forming a gentle embrace. He placed a light kiss on the top of Cameron's head and then rested his chin on the same spot. House felt his arm starting to move slowly up and down Cameron's arm and he whispered ever so quietly, "Shhh…it's going to be okay…"

After a while Cameron's sobs became normal breathing and she slowly lifted her head. House's arms fell back to his side.

"Thank-you," said Cameron, so softly that House wasn't sure she'd actually said something.

House, feeling awkward about what he had actually just done, simply nodded his head in reply. A horn sounded and Cameron got up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Evi," she called out to the younger girl.

Evi, a bowl of ice-cream in her hand, padded into the doorway.

"You have to listen to House and do what he tells you to do ok? I'll be back in a couple of days. Don't eat too much junk and I'm restricting you both," she said waving her hand back and forth between House and Evi, "to 4 nights a week takeout max got that?"

House straightened up and mock saluted "Sir, Yes Sir,"

Cameron scoffed, "I mean Madam"

From behind Cameron House could see Evi trying to keep a straight face. Cameron walked over to Evi and gave her a light kiss on the forehead and hugged her.

"Be good" said Cameron as she moved towards the door.

"What no kiss for me?" House asked in mock hurt following her out the door, "Now I can really tell who's the favorite."

"Me of course," Evi's voice came up from behind him.

Cameron was struggling getting her bag out the door so House took a step forward to help her. He swatted Cameron's hands away and pushed past her out the door. "And they said chivalry is dead" said Cameron with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah…you know, for an old guy with a cane you're pretty strong," Evi said following House towards the lift.

"Ha. You think this is strong. You should see me with Angelique. We're getting really good at this thing now where-"

"House," Cameron cut him off.

"We'll keep that one for when she's gone, won't we kiddo," House said winking at Evi as they all entered the lift. They rode down in silence, except for the sound of House bouncing his cane on the floor. The chime of the cart arriving at the floor broke the silence and they all stepped out. Evi, not having any shoes on, stayed on the verandah while House and Cameron walked over to the cab.

House loaded the bag into the trunk and walked over to where Cameron was standing by the side door.

"I'll call after I get there to make sure Evi hasn't killed you," Cameron said.

"How do you know that I won't kill her first?" House said with an evil grin spread across his face.

Cameron opened the door and was about to step inside, when she turned around to face House. He wasn't sure what she was going to do, but he felt her put her hands on his shoulders and rise on her toes to give him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Thank-you House," she said embarrassed and got into the car.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked.

"The train station please," Cameron said as she closed the door and the cab pulled away.

House watched the car turn the corner and then walked back up to where Evi was standing.

"So she kissed you huh?" said Evi, her grin giving her huge dimples. House was still taken aback by Cameron's actions and said the first thing that came to mind. "Your mom's had her cootie shots right? Who will babysit you if I get sick?"

Now it was Evi's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm not a baby…so…mom's gone now…you gonna tell me what you do with Ange-what's-her-face?" she asked.

House let out a little laugh and smiled as he led Evi back towards the lift. Maybe the next few days won't be so bad after all.


	14. Chapter 13 Takeout Numbers

**Chapter 13**

Cameron only thought about two things the whole way to the station. First of all, she was still trying to absorb the fact that she kissed House**_. What was she thinking? _**He didn't care for her; he didn't even like her. Now she's just given him more "material" to use against her! But even so…she put her fingers to her lips and she could still feel the tingle of his rough stubble hitting her lips. It had only been a quick peck, but to Cameron it was one of the best kisses she had ever had.

Secondly, her mind kept replaying the time they spent sitting in her room. He had put his arm around her and let her cry into his chest. Although she wasn't sure it actually happened, Cameron could have sworn that House placed the lightest kiss she had ever felt on her forehead. The feeling of his body against hers felt so right but so wrong in so many different ways. He was her boss. And like he said when they went out on their disastrous date, he was twice her age. But Cameron had never wanted anything so bad, and she felt as though she would do anything to get it.

"Ma'am we're here," the cabby's voice interrupted her thoughts. She opened the door and stepped out onto the busy street. She got her bags from the trunk, paid the cab driver, and walked to the entrance of the station.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile back at Cameron's place, House was having his first real good look at the inside. Much to his surprise, it wasn't as girly as he thought it would be. There weren't frills or lace, no floral print couch or tacky trinkits placed throughout the apartment. There weren't even many photos on the walls; just a couple of her when she was younger with her family. He tried, unsuccessfully, not to notice how much Cameron looked like her mother.

He walked to the front corridor, picked up his bag, and walked back to Cameron's room. He put his bag down and sat on the edge of the bed. He could hear Evi humming down the hall. The sound of his cell phone ringing cut through the silence. He looked at the caller ID and flipped his phone open.

"Yes Cuddy dearest?" he said the sweetest voice he could muster.

"House, I know it's getting late but I'm going to email a file to you. There's a password to open it, have you got a pen on you?"

"Yeah one sec," House replied and fumbled around in his pockets. Realising that his pen was in his jacket pocket, which was back in the living room draped over the treadmill handles, House opened Cameron's bedside table and groped around until he found a writing utensil. Cuddy gave him the password, and then explained the file. He got a little annoyed at how many times Cuddy asked if he was paying attention.

After Cuddy finally finished talking, House hung up the phone and leaned over to the nightstand to put the pen back in the drawer. Just as he was about to drop it in, something glistened in the light and caught his eye. He looked in the drawer and saw a shiny chrome picture frame. Unable to control his curiousity, House pulled it out to give it a better look.

There was Cameron in a white dress, holding a bouquet of flowers, and standing beside her was a man in a tux. "So this is what her husband looked like" House said to himself quietly. He had to admit that she looked very beautiful, but then again, that wasn't really hard for Cameron.

He heard footsteps coming down the hall and Evi's humming started to get louder. He carefully put the frame back and shut the drawer just as Evi walked into the room. She sat down on the bed next to him.

"You're looking awfully guilty," she stated with a small grin.

"Yeah well…." House trailed off.

"I'm hungry can we grab something to eat?" she asked completely oblivious to his loss of words.

"Yeah sure…but nothing too healthy" he said with a wink. The two of them got up, walked out of the room, and headed towards the living room to search the phone book for take-out numbers.


	15. Chapter 14 Clocks and Boxes of

**Here's chapter 14. I've decided that I'm not going to do a big reunion chapter with Cam's family until later on. Please hit the little magic button and review cause it means so much to hear if you like this or note.**

**A/N: Many thanks again to my beta ponks19 and of course my faithful readers.**

**Disclaimer: House or any other characters besides Evi don't belong to be but there are only a few more weeks till Christmas…..**

**Chapter 14**

After a long and exhausting family reunion, Cameron went to her bedroom. All she wanted to do was cry, but she had been doing that all day long and there simply weren't any tears left.

She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. She looked at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. 11:30 the yellow numbers said. As she took off her shoes, her thoughts wandered back to House and Evi. She wondered if everything was okay…curious if either of them had killed the other. She picked up her back from the floor, placed it beside her on the bed, and rummaged through it until she felt her hand grip around her mobile. She searched the phonebook until she found House's number. He picked up on the 3rd ring.

"House," came his gruff voice.

"Umm... Hi House, it's Cameron. How's everything going?" she asked.

"Oh just fine, me and Angelique are having a great time," House replied in a sarcastic tone.

"House," Cameron said rolling her eyes, "be serious,"

"Fine," House sighed, "The little one is doing just fine,"

"Ok. When she wakes up tomorrow, tell her I called to check in."

"You can talk to her now if you want…she's still up" House said and the line went silent for a minute then Evi's cheery voice came on. "Hi ya,"

"You…should be in bed missy!" Cameron said with a small smile. "Is everything ok? House is…behaving?"

"Yeah everything's fine. Except you officially have no food left and your house looks like a zoo. But other than that, everthing is great,"

Cameron gave a slight laugh, "There better be a full fridge and the house better look really clean when I get back,"

"Yes Ma'am," Evi said, "I gotta go it's getting to the good part in the movie. I'll talk to you later,"

"No way…get to bed! It's nearly midnight!" Cameron said

"But the movie's only got about 15 minutes to go,"

"Fine…then straight to bed" sighed Cameron, "Have a good night,"

"Scout's honor. I love you," Evi's response startled Cameron and it took her a couple of seconds to answer

"I love you too. Goodnight" replied Cameron.

Once again the phone went silent for a moment before she heard House's voice again, "so how's mummy dearest?"

"She's not doing too well," Cameron replied.

"Nice family reunion at least?" asked House

"I guess. I mean I was happy to see everyone but…not everyone was as thrilled to see me," Cameron sighed, her voice trailing off at the end.

"Gee sounds fun," said House, with a sarcastic hint in his voice.

"Yeah," Cameron said softly, "So solve the case?"

"Nah not yet, I'm working on it though," came House's reply.

"Got any new leads?" she asked

"Some new lab work came back. Her white count is through the roof, yet she's not showing any signs of infection anywhere,"

Cameron could hear a rattle as House took two Vicodon.

"How are Chase and Foreman?" she asked.

"Good old Brit is fine. He's been banned from all coffee duties though."

Cameron softly laughed

"And my hommie is his usual self. Looks like he's got himself a new fling,"

"That's good, he'll arrive late to work and you can torment him for it" Cameron said, "Well I better get going. I've got a big day ahead."

"Yeah, I better get my beauty sleep. Cuddy likes me wide awake when we have 'special' meetings in her office." House replied.

"That's way too much information," Cameron chuckled. "I'll call tomorrow,"

"Gee, I feel so loved," House said sarcastically

"Whatever. Tell Evi she has to go to bed now," Cameron said, the mother in her taking over.

"Yep, got about 15 minutes before Angelique arrives with a whole box of ---"

"Goodnight House," Cameron interrupted.

"Hm," was the last sound Cameron heard before the sound of the dial tone met her ear.

Cameron stared at the phone for a few seconds before reaching over and placing it on the bedside table. She pulled her pajamas out of her bag and walked into the bathroom to get changed.

She pulled back the covers of the bed and slipped in amongst the cool sheets. She wished, like she had so many other times, that someone was there to hold her and whisper in her ear that everything would be alright. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what big strong arms would feel like around her small frame. She cuddled a pillow pretending that it was the warm midsection of somebody's body. She was starting to actually believe that there was someone there, and she was slowly drifting off to sleep. Then a loud thump from somewhere in the house jolted her awake and away from her fantasy.


	16. Chapter 15 Strawberries & Mint

**Disclaimer: I don't own HOUSE or any other characters except Evi.**

**A/N: This is just a filler chapter until we get to the good stuff! One thing that my beta pointed out was that the loud thud from the last chapter isn't explained so I shall do that now. The whole point in having that thud was just to snap Cameron out of her thoughts I hope that's cleared up!**

**I'd also like to thank ponks19 and all the people who review. Before I wrote this I like never used to comment on stories but now I try and do because I know what it's like to get comment! THEY MAKE MY DAY……………**

**Chapter 15**

Cameron wasn't the only one that was having trouble sleeping that night. After House had sent Evi to bed, he went back to Cameron's room. He got changed and slipped beneath the sheets. The smell of strawberries and mint filled his nose and all House could think about was the fact that he was sleeping in Cameron's bed without actually having her sleeping form next to him.

Cameron must be having a really hard time, he thought. He always noticed that when she lost a patient, she wouldn't be herself for a few days. If that was what she was like when she didn't really know the person, House could only imagine what it would be like when she actually did know the person really well.

Turning onto his back, House looked up at the ceiling. Why weren't people happy to see Cameron? She was the kind of person that was nice to everyone, so who could possibly not like her? After about ½ an hour of thinking, House finally fell asleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cameron woke up the next morning to the sound of two people whispering. She rubbed her eyes and slipped slightly out of bed. She padded over to the door and pressed her ear against it.

"She should have stayed back in Jersey," she could hear he father's voice say.

"Dad, she should at least be able to say good-bye," her sister's voice.

"Fine," her father's reply came.

Cameron walked into her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. After all these years, her parents were still angry at her for having a child? They should've been happy that they had a grand-daughter. Or was her father angry about something else? She wondered if maybe she should just go back home.

After staring at her reflection for about 10 minutes, Cameron finally walked back into her room and got changed. Cameron walked down the stairs and on the landing she was met by her 2 year-old niece, Jamie.

"Hey sweetie," she said picking up the small child in her arms and carrying her down the rest of the stairs. It was times like this that she wished that she hadn't given away Evi at such a young age. Walking into the kitchen, Cameron could feel that Jamie was getting restless so she placed her carefully on the floor.

"Morning Ally," Cameron was greeted by the cheery voice of her sister, Katie.

"Hey," Cameron said walking over to the bench and leaning against it.

"So did you sleep okay?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, just fine." She replied.

Cameron got her breakfast and sat at the table. As she was crunching her cereal, Cameron watched as her family one by one entered the room. It was just like when they were all still kids. Katie would be up first, then Cameron, after that her two brothers, and lastly her parents. There was only one thing missing. Her mum.

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House woke up fairly early because of his leg. He reached over and grabbed his Vicodin from the bedside table, took two and closed his eyes letting the medicine kick in.

Evi sat at the kitchen table concentrating extremely hard on the picture in front of her. It was the one that she'd found only 2 days go, of House and Cameron. They both looked so happy, well as happy as House could look. She was tracing their faces with her finger when she heard a shuffling sound behind her. Evi turned her head and saw a tired looking House.

"Jeez it's like 7, are you usually up at this hour?" he asked as he walked towards Evi.

"Yep. Actually, back home I have to be up by 6:30 because it takes me so long to get ready," she replied.

House was now standing directly behind Evi, and was looking at the photo.

Evi watched his face as he studied the photo carefully with his eyes.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked trying to sound casual.

"She had it, Wilson gave it to her…It's a nice photo of you. You're actually smiling," Evi said with a smirk.

House could remember when the photo was taken. He knew it was at the Annual Hospital Benefit last year, but why did he have his arm around Cameron? He hated to admit that sometimes he thought about what it would be like to have his arm around Cameron and not be embarrassed. He thought about the hug that they had shared just a day ago.

The sound of Evi getting up off her chair snapped House out of his thoughts. She took her dishes into the kitchen and came back to stand next to house.

"I'm gonna get changed. What time are you supposed to be at the hospital?" she asked.

House replied, "I'm _supposed_ tobe there at 7 but I don't _arrive_ until about nine,"

Evi chuckled slightly and shook her head. "I'll be ready by then," she said and walked down towards her room.

House sat down at the table and looked at the picture once more. He fingered the edge for a while then flipped the photo over. A message had been written on the back by Wilson. It must have been about the time Cameron left, House thought. Why didn't he think of getting her something? Cameron's words filled his mind. _There are only 2 ways that I can deal with things. One is in my control. And that's to leave. Goodbye House. _ Her words seemed so final and definite like there was no going back. He put the picture down, stood up, and started to walk back to Cameron's room to get changed. About halfway down the hallway, he stopped and turned around. He paused for a minute and slowly walked back to the table. He put his hands on the table for balance, closed his eyes, and hung his head. After a few minutes House finally opened his eyes, picked up the picture, and made his way to the bedroom.


	17. Chapter 16 Christmas Trees & Vacations

**Finally a new chapter is up! I'd just like to say that I cried for about 10 minutes after I received sooooo many condolences in reviews. I seriously started to read them and started to cry and was like "awww they're so nice I have to buy them all flowers or chocolates or something!!"**

**Anywho… once again thank-you to ponks19 who is just amazing and so caring and so nice and so cool and….yeah! Also thx to all the people that reviewed. If I couldn't find you all, I would personally give you something like chocolates….. or maybe even convince the produces to lend you House for a week….ah the possibilities!**

**Disclaimer: I think Santa just dropped House & Co. at the wrong house…… so I'll keep waiting until they turn up in my letterbox!**

**Chapter 16 Christmas Trees and Vacations**

House and Evi arrived at the hospital at the hospital around 8:30. As they walked through the lobby House was given many strange looks by the nurses and other hospital staff.He could hear them whispering things like "What's McCranky doing with a kid?" and "Poor girl must be going nuts around him" but before he could open his mouth with a comeback, Evi grabbed hold of his wrist and led him to the elevator.

"When's Cameron coming back?" Foreman whined as he spat out his coffee back into his cup.

"Hopefully soon," House said as he walked over to the coffee machine and emptied the contents down the sink.

"I can make coffee," Evi said standing up and walking over to House.

"If it's anything like Chase's, I'll kill you," House said and walked over to the whiteboard.

Evi grabbed a fresh filter, scooped in the coffee grounds, filled the machine with water and turned it on. She watched as House and the others, minus Cameron, did a differential diagnosis trying to put the latest symptoms in place. A few minutes later Evi heard the three beeps signalling that the coffee was ready, so she looked around to find milk and sugar.

"Milk. Fridge. Right side. Second shelf. Sugar. Second cupboard from the left. Lowest shelf." Evi looked up and saw that House was still writing on the whiteboard with his back to her. _How on Earth did he do that?_ She thought as she pulled out the milk. After she'd finished make the coffees, she walked over to House and handed him a cup.

House took a sip and immediately noticed two things: Evi's coffee tasted exactly like Cameron's, and she had handed him the red mug - _his_ red mug. _How on Earth did she do that?_ He thought.

The differential diagnosis continued for about 20 minutes, and then House ordered Chase and Foreman to go run some tests leaving Evi and House alone in the conference room. He was sitting on the chair closest to the whiteboard and had his chin leaning on his cane. Evi was drawing a picture of the view from the window and humming along to her Ipod. Once Evi finished her drawing she turned to House, who was deep in thought, and asked, "What are you doing for Christmas?"

House turned and looked and her, "Do I look like a holiday spirit person?" when she just raised on eyebrow he said, "I'll do what I do every year…be home alone until Wilson gets sick of his family and comes over with Chinese takeout."

"Do you decorate a tree? Real or fake?" she asked.

"What do you care, you're not going to be around then are you?"

"It was just a question…I was curious," she said and went back to her drawing.

House sighed "You wanna get one?" he asked hesitantly and avoiding eye contact.

She tried not to sound too excited, "Yeah!..I mean…O.K…that'd be cool"

All she got in reply was a nod from House.

The awkward silence was broken when the phone rang. House tried to ignore it but when Evi asked if she should get it, he finally got up to answer it. He looked at the caller ID but it was an unknown number.

"House" he said, in a tone that made it seem more like a question

"Hey House, it's Cameron." a soft voice came from the receiver.

"Damn! When it said unknown number I thought it might have been Angelique," he replied with his usual sarcastic edge.

"Sorry to disappoint you," she said. There was a short pause and then she continued, "I'm just calling you to let you know that I'll be here for 3 more days then I'm coming back,"

"So soon? You said you'd be gone a few weeks" he asked

"I'm not needed here. Everyone's fine without me." she replied.

"Okay," he said and beckoned Evi over.

"That's it?" Cameron replied surprised that House was actually being polite and not prying.

"Yep that's it." He said. Evi was now making gestures for him to give her the phone.

"Well I'll call later tonight after I've adjusted my travel plans. I'll try to avoid a late flight, I'd rather get home sooner than later, but it might be one extra night watching Evi,"

"I'll be waiting," House said. Evi was trying to yank the phone out of his hands but House wouldn't give in

"Okay, I'll talk to you then," she said

"Yeah bye," he replied, grinning evilly and hung up the phone. He looked at Evi who now had her mouth wide open.

"Whoops, my finger slipped," he said shrugging.

"You're mean and evil and I hate you," she said crossing her arms, pouting her lips, and turning her back on him.

"You know that doesn't really offend me because people are always telling me one, or two or sometimes if I'm lucky all 3 of those things," he said turning and walking back to the whiteboard.

Evi responded with a mumble of words House deemed inappropriate for a girl of her age and she sat back down. House was about to bite back when Cuddy walked in.

"House I just had a complaint from one of the nurses and sh-" she started to say, when she noticed Evi sitting down. She stuck out her hand, "I'm Lisa Cuddy,"

"I know who you are," Evi said shaking Cuddy's hand, "I'm Evangeline, Evi for short,"

"Nice meeting you," she turned to House, "Why do you have a teenage girl **_alone _**with you in this office?"

"Well duh! Because we're like having a sleep over, and we're about to do each others hair…so you wanna like join?" he said sarcastically.

"House," Cuddy replied, giving him a look that told him she wasn't in the mood for his games.

"Her **_mother_** asked me to look after her," he said

"No woman in their right mind would do that…who's her mother?" Cuddy replied throwing her hands up in the air.

House shrugged his shoulders "I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you,"

"God you're impossible," Cuddy said rolling her eyes. There was a silence between the two of them until House spoke up,

"Soooooo…. Miss Cuddy, since I haven't been on a holiday in a while, in fact almost the whole time I've worked here, how much vacation leave do I have?"

"You? Wanna go on a vacation?" she asked in disbelief

"Yeah…I need a break from this place. I work oh so hard, 18 hours a day, seven days a week!," he replied trying desperately to hold back from smiling.

"Ok, fine then. You've got about 3 months saved up, I think, it's probably more than that but since the whole time you're supposed to be working, it seems as though you're having one big long vacation anyway,"

"Excellent," House said doing his best Mr. Burns impression

"When were you thinking of leaving and more importantly where do you plan on going?" Cuddy asked taking a seat.

"Ummm….most likely tonight, and I'm going to visit a friend,"

"House you can't leave now. Cameron's already gone on her vacation and if you go, that will leave only two people in your department and that isn't sufficient for looking after your patients," Cuddy said, "besides, you don't have any friends other than Wilson,"

"I'm hurt," he replied dramatically and put his hand over his heart for effect. Evi was trying to stop herself from laughing in the seat next to him.

"House" Cuddy said warningly

"Oh come on. I know I may cost the hospital a lot of money" House started. Cuddy just scoffed, he looked at her then continued, "but I've said heaps of lives, I need a reward. I mean, you can just think of me as a dog and I've just learnt a new trick"

Cuddy didn't look too impressed but sighed, "four extra clinic hours when you get back,"

"Jeez you're weak," House replied.

"Yeah I know, but now that I really think about it, odds are more work will get done while you're gone then if you were here," Cuddy replied.

"Touche" House said and got up to empty the rest of his coffee down the sink.

Cuddy's pager started to beep and she stood up. "House, just don't be gone too long. And whatever you're doing, try to actually enjoy yourself. Evi it was nice meeting you," Cuddy said as she walked to the door.

Evi waved good bye, and as the door shut she turned to House, "So, do I know this friend of yours that you're going to visit?" she asked

"Sure do," was his only reply.

**Please hit the little purple(ly) button & I promise to have a new chapter up real soon.**

**Also if you have any suggestion please let me know cause I love putting in other peoples ideas and seeing how other people are "seeing" the story!!**


	18. Chapter 17 End of the World

**A new chapter is up once again!**

**Much love and thx to all my reviewers, I think the story may have hit 100 (one can only pray)**

**Thanks again to ponks19 who is so good to me.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own House yadda yadda yaddd, the usual stuff. But I do own the DVDs……**

**Chapter 17 End of the World**

After a long day at the hospital and the case finally solved, House and Evi headed back to Cameron's place.

"So you gonna tell me who ya gonna visit?" Evi asked as soon as she got in the door and put her bag down on the counter.

"I'm going to visit?" House asked pulling a bottle of beer from the fridge, "You mean who we're going to visit?"

"Whadda mean 'we' I can't go anywhere! Mum is probably coming home soon and sh-" she turned to House, "We're going to see her aren't we?"

"Yep," came House's reply as he moved from the kitchen into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"She's going to kill you, you know that?" Evi said as she sat down next to him.

"A lot of people want to kill me," House replied staring at the black television screen.

There was a silence between the two and then finally Evi let out a breath that she didn't even realize she was holding.

"House?" she asked quietly. He turned and looked at her, nodding for her to continue.

"Why?" was her next word. There was silence and she tried to read his face, but it displayed no emotion. But it was his eyes that were a dead give away. As Evi looked at his piercing blue eyes she saw so many emotions that she didn't know it was possible to even experience them all at once. She saw fear, the need to be loved, the need to be accepted for who he was, and the need to be able to love.

His eyes said so many words, but his mouth was shut. Evi nodded showing that she understood what he was trying to say. House nodded back to her and turned back to the T.V, which still had no picture.

"You wanna get take-out?" Evi asked changing the subject.

House took a sip of beer, "Nope, I'll cook,"

Evi's mouth fell open, "Cook what? 2 minute noodles?"

House couldn't help but smile at this, "No. I can cook lots of things,"

"Spaghetti-o-'s don't count," Evi said standing up and stretching.

"Jeez and they say I'm mean." House said rolling his eyes for effect, "I can cook burritos, do you like those?"

"Yeah, but none of the vegetarian crap, the real stuff," Evi said.

"Do I look like I'd eat rabbit food?" House asked. Evi just shook her head.

House moved into the kitchen and started to open cupboards, Evi followed him full of curiosity.

"You've got no idea what you're doing do you?" she asked watching him with a smile on her face.

He turned, his piercing blue eyes staring straight at her, "Why do you have to question everything I do?" he answered

"Why do you always answer questions with questions?" she snapped back, her eyes staring back just as hard.

House sighed and finally tore his gaze from her eyes and down to the floor. She moved closer to him and leaned against the counter. Silence engulfed the two and all that could be heard was the ticking of the clock.

Finally when the silence was almost too much to bare, Evi spoke up.

"House, we were watching this film in school like 2 weeks ago about how scientists and researchers are talking about global warming and the 'end of the world'? Well, let me tell you what it would be like. It will be a final moment; both terrible and heartbreaking. Absolute chaos. People running around as fast as they ever have, cars filling every road and freeway. Phone lines back up trying to process millions of calls. Fingers flying over keyboards and thumbs texting like rapid fire. There'd be long lines of people trying to cram and squeeze themselves into subways and airplanes. All of them trying to tell someone else, 'I Love You' but it's not the end yet. And whatever you do, don't wait to tell people, tell her, how you feel. The worst thing isn't the end of the world. It's what you didn't finish; what you didn't say when you had the chance."

There was silence once again and Evi pushed herself off the counter and walked to her room.

When House heard her door close he leaned forward and pulled the photo out of his back pocket and sighed

_Maybe she's right_ he thought.

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	19. Chapter 18 Five Burritos and Four Sodas

**New Chapter peoples! I hope you all enjoy it. Just a quick note, I'm going away for about 2 weeks so there could be a delay on the next chapter.**

**Thx to you all for such kind reviews, you're all the reason I keep writing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own House………….**

**Chapter 18 Five Burritos and Four Sodas**

House stood there looking at the picture for what seemed like an hour. Why did this child, this girl, have such an affect on him? She was 13 for crying out loud.

The sound of shuffling interrupted his thoughts, and he lifted his head to see Evi standing there.

"So," she started, "can I help make the burritos?"

"Sure," came his reply

--------------------------------------------------------------

Five burritos and four sodas later, House and Evi sat down on the couch to watch some T.V. House was secretly hoping that the dirty dishes in the sink would magically wash themselves overnight.

"I'm so full I don't think I could eat for a week," Evi said wiping her mouth.

"You wuss. You only had like 2 burritos," House said putting his feet up on the table.

"Cut me some slack will ya? I'm little," Evi said

"Yeah and I'm a cripple. That doesn't stop me from doing outrageous things," said House.

Evi giggled, and she could have sworn that she heard House give a slight chuckle. House's phone started to ring, and he got up to answer it.

"Hey House it's Wilson,"

"Hey, what's up?" said House.

"You gonna watch the L Word marathon later? On mute of course?" Wilson asked.

"So what if I am?" House replied

"Mind if I come over?" Wilson asked.

"You have a fight with your wife _again?_" House said.

"Maybe. Ok yeah I did. I promise it will just be one night" Wilson said.

"Fine. I'm getting tired of being stuck alone with the kid anyway. You know she's worse than her mother," House sighed.

"You're still at Cameron's huh?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah, but not for much longer," House said

"Why's that?" Wilson replied

'I'll explain to you when you're older," House said jokingly.

"Whatever. I'll be over in about 15 minutes. See you House" Wilson said as he hung up the phone.

House moved back over to the couch and sat down.

"Who was that?" Evi asked.

"Wilson. He's coming over," House said turning his attention to the T.V

Evi nodded and went back to watching.

----------------------------------------------------------------

20 minutes later and there was a knock at the door. Evi got up to answer it when House showed no signs of moving.

"Hey Wilson, come in," Evi said opening the door.

"Hey. I'm surprised to see you looking so happy," Wilson said entering.

"Why's that?" Evi asked

"Cause you've been seeing House nearly 24/7 for the past 4 days. Even I'd lose my mind," he chuckled

Evi laughed and walked into the living room where House was sitting, "I guess he can be annoying. He's kinda one of those people you love to hate."

"Ouch…my ears are burning, so stop talking about me" House said pretending to sulk.

Evi and Wilson smiled at each other and sat down.

"So what did you do this time?" House asked Wilson.

"Nothing that is any of your business," Wilson replied.

Evi looked at Wilson and raised an eyebrow.

"Why did your mind go straight to that? You've been in House's company for way too long," Wilson said.

Evi rolled her eyes and focused back on the TV. They all watched T.V for a while, then Wilson spoke.

"How's Cameron?" he asked.

"Fine. Being Cameron. She's upset of course," House said.

"We're gonna go see her," said Evi turning her head away from the television.

"What?" Wilson asked

Evi looked at Wilson then at House, who obviously hadn't told anyone else about the little trip he was planning.

She bit on the side of her lip and stood up, "I think I'll go to bed now," she faked a yawn and stretched dramatically, "I'm getting tired anyway," She said good night to both Wilson and House and moved down the hall.

House was avoiding Wilson's gaze and pretended to look interested in the show they were currently watching.

"House, you can't avoid it forever," Wilson stated.

"Avoid what? The fact that I'm going to do one good thing for someone who I really don't give a damn about," House snapped.

"You're going to visit Cameron? Is that what Evi meant?" Wilson asked

House stayed silent then looked up, "Yeah,"

Wilson was clearly taken back. House was going to do something that wasn't for the good of himself. It was a time when Cameron needed someone the most and House had taken upon himself to try and comfort her, to be there for her. He wondered what Cameron's reaction would be. Would she be just as shocked as he was? Would she break down and cry? This is the girl who had a crush on House. The girl who had been and was most definitely still in _love_ with House. She had left because of her feelings toward him, and then came back for the same reason. She'd stood back when Stacey had come back into House's life and watched House close back up again when she left.

"House," Wilson started, "Have you ever really thought about it? You've got this girl who is head over heels in love with you. She'd do anything for you.," he paused, "Hell she'd probably even die for you. But for some reason you don't want to see that. You know it's there, and you feel the same way, but you refuse to act. Maybe you're scared. Maybe you're scared of hurting this girl who you've known for what seems like years and years. You've seen her happy, sad and just about every other emotion, and she's seen you at your worst. This girl, woman, is perfect, and that scares you doesn't it?"

Wilson prepared himself for the barrage of sarcastic comments that were about to come his way, but nothing ever came. Silence had engulfed the room, and they were both avoiding each other's gaze. After a couple of minutes passed, Wilson stood up and headed to the door. As he was turning the handle House's voice stopped him.

"Being around her makes me feel like for once in my life, I don't have to try and be happy. It just happens. That's what scares me,"

_Once again silenced filled the room and Wilson smiled. He opened the door and stepped out._

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	20. Chapter 19 Times at the Airport

**Chapter 19**

House heard the door close and sighed. _What had he just said? He admitted that Cameron made him happy. Did she make him happy? _He thought about it. The question whizzed around in his head like a fast rollercoaster. It was the little things that she did that made his day a little brighter. Like how she sorted his mail and brought him coffee in the morning or how she seemed to always get his ideas before Chase and Foreman even had the slightest clue.

He moved towards his phone and dialed Cameron's number. He was going to have to tell her what was happening instead of just showing up on her doorstep. He held the phone to his ear silently wishing that Cameron wouldn't pick up the phone, so he could just leave a message.

"Allison here," came her voice. The name sounded so foreign to House's ears that he nearly said he had dialed the wrong number.

"Hey, it's House," he finally managed to say

"Hey how's living with Evi going?" she asked

"Good. I've finally learned the secret to living with her," House said

"Yeah and what would that be?" Cameron asked.

"Letting her talk all the time. But the real trick is to look like you're interested and know when to nod your head and say yes,"

This got a laugh from Cameron, "Is that how you put up with Cuddy as well?"

"Pretty much," House said.

The line went silent for a while, then House spoke up once again.

"How are things on your end?"

Cameron sighed, "Stressful. Little things just make me wanna scream,"

"You never scream. You never raise your voice in fact," House pointed out.

"Actually yeah I do. I yelled at my dad once or twice" Cameron said

"Whatever, Miss I'd never hurt a fly, that would never happen," snorted House.

"I'm not the good girl everyone thinks I am House" Cameron said, her voice shaking slightly with anger, "I've made my fair share of mistakes. I've taken a hook-up too far, fallen in love with the wrong guy, lost my best friend because of a stupid mistake, made casual drinking into a drunken night, took "I have a boyfriend" to "only if you don't tell anyone", she sighed and continued, "I just wish that everyone who thinks they know me, knew me for me and still cared."

Once again the line went silent. House sat there thinking of a way to break the news to Cameron. He took a deep breath and said "Cameron, can you be at the airport at 8:30?"

"Why?" she asked

"Um….Evi and I are going to come and visit" House trailed his voice upwards, making it sound more like a question. He waited anxiously for her response.

"I'm sorry what?" it came.

"Evi and I are coming to visit," House said slowly and more confidently, as if he was talking to a child.

He heard a small laugh come from Cameron before she started to speak, "House you can't stay here. My family will kill me, I mean what am I supposed to say, 'These are my friends they just showed up' and when they say what for, you know I can't say for moral support," she took a deep breath, "House there's no place for you to sleep. There are so many people here already, and what are you going to do all day? I mean how long are you going to even stay for? Why are you even coming to stay in the first place? Shouldn't you be saving lives or at least making people miserable? And you'll have no-one to annoy because Wilson, Chase, Forman and Cuddy will all be far away fro-"

"You're nervous," House stated, cutting her off

"Wh-what? No I'm not. Why do you think that?" Cameron stuttered.

"You ramble when you're nervous" House said. _I like the way I know you ramble when you're nervous. I like that I can still make you nervous, _House thought.

A small chuckle came from Cameron before she sighed, "House, I don't know if this is a good idea. Should you really be coming out here? You said yourself that you don't even like me, there's no way you're going to like my family."

"Everybody lies, Cameron," House said. And without giving Cameron a chance to speak he continued, "So will you be at the airport to pick us up or not?"

Cameron was quiet for a second before she spoke, "Yeah OK, see you at 8:30?"

"Yeah, see you then," House said and hung up the phone. He ran his hand over his face and stared at the ceiling.

_It was going to be a long week…….Wait a week, who said anything about a week??? With Cameron's family? House's actions just started to register__in his brain.  
Shit, What have I got myself into? _He thought.


	21. Author's Note

Hey Guys!

Sorry it's been ages. Unfortunately this isn't a new chapter…

I've just had a massive case of writers block and have been unable to write anything. I've finally gotten over it and have finished the next 2 chapters. But……(yes there's always **one**) I've sent the, off to my beta ponks19 and haven't gotten any reply. If anyone knows how I can get in contact with her (via the internet) that would be most helpful…

In the meantime, I guess I have to look for a beta to fill in the position. Is there anyone there who is willing to do a quick beta job to help me out? If so please leave your email…your help is greatly appreciated…

.:xoxo:. _sugarncandy_

_P.S. _Ponks…if you're reading this please let me know that you're okay I'm worried…and no I haven't ditched you…it's just temporary, I promise! xox


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